Port of Tilbury receives prestigious training award

PRESS RELEASE

The Port of Tilbury, London's major port, picked up a prestigious award for their port based Training Academy at the Worshipful Company of Carmen annual awards in London.

The Herbert Crow Memorial Award was presented to Perry Glading and Simon Harper from the port at the annual awards dinner in the Guildhall which recognises significant achievements, contributions and innovation of individuals, companies and the armed forces. The award was for the port’s training academy which was established in 2014 and has seen over 100 trainees, apprentices and advanced apprentices go through their bespoke training programmes. The port has directly employed 11 new apprentices over the past year and has committed to a further 45 trainees and apprentices during 2015 to support the Ports operations. The academy was opened in 2014 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

Winning the award for the ports investment and success with their bespoke training academy,Perry Glading, Chief Operating Officer at Forth Ports (owners of the Port of Tilbury), said: "I am delighted to collect this award on behalf of everyone involved in our training academy. Having a skilled workforce is key to delivering the service level our customers expect from a major port. In the last two years the Port has taken on 30 apprentices (5% of the workforce) with imminent plans to take on a further 15. We are an important employer in the area with over 800 people directly employed at the port and we contribute to the local economy with over 8000 jobs depending on us to continue to be successful.

Tilbury plays a pivotal role in supporting the UK economy, from supplying construction materials for housing schemes across the South East and large infrastructure projects like Crossrail to supporting the drive to improve recycling rates with the largest sorting and export facility in Britain."

About The Port of Tilbury - the major gateway to London and the South East

The Port of Tilbury is London's major port, providing fast, modern distribution services for the benefit of the south east of England and beyond. A dynamic and diverse port handling the full range of cargoes with specialist expertise in the handling of paper and forest products, containers & Ro Ro, grain and bulk commodities and construction and building materials.

Tilbury's strategic location makes it the natural point for distribution with 18 million people living within 75 miles. Serving the UK's market, the port offers customers excellent transport links to and from the capital and across the South East where over 50% of the population live and work.

The Port is a diverse multi-modal hub, covering over 850 acres and is well positioned to access the M25 orbital motorway and the rest of the UK's national motorway network. In addition, there are direct rail connections within the Port, with access to the whole of the UK and dedicated barge facilities.

London Container Terminal (LCT) provides a unique combination of European Short Sea and Deep Sea services at the same facility. As the UK’s third largest container terminal, Tilbury handles over half a million containers per year.

The London Construction Link (LCL) is a collaboration between the Port of Tilbury and S. Walsh, one of the leading construction solutions companies in London. The partnership is seeking to relieve congestion on the capital's roads, with associated cycling safety and CO2 benefits, through promoting greater use of construction consolidation and the use of the river for construction projects on or near the Thames. LCL builds upon the Tilbury’s pedigree as the logistics and distribution hub for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and S. Walsh’s success as the largest marine operator on the Thames. LCL is supported by British Cycling.